Originally Posted By: Mark Hayes
I don't know. I get tired of being told that everything is cool, there's no right or wrong, don't let the evil Music Nazis tell you you made a "mistake", there are no "mistakes", etc. Partly because nobody is SAYING that, it's just a straw man that people like to burn. But partly because I don't agree with this constantly repeated rejoinder.

The problem with "it's all right if it makes you happy" is how do I LEARN anything? How do I GET BETTER? If the teacher turns the classroom over to the kiddies saying, "I'm here to learn from you as much as you're here to learn from me!" and at the end of the day participation trophies are awarded to everyone, what skills are they going to be developing?

If everything is groovy and there's no right and wrong and all that matters is if it makes you happy, the idea of becoming a better musician becomes meaningless, it's like becoming a better eater of ice cream.

I believe musicians can become better musicians.


I don't know anybody that actually says that. I was joking above. There are certainly wrong notes, that just don't sound good. Dissonance is one thing, just plain awful is another. I once was in a place where a guy starts playing the piano, but the background music was still playing over the ambience speakers. Talk about dissonance and wrong notes! 2 songs played at once can do that to you!!

My wife asked if I had seen the dog bowl. I told her I didn't even know he could.